Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia nor the Hunger Games.

Chapter Six

Lovino pulled his knees together and glared at the ground. The night air was chilly, and he shivered slightly.

"Lovino, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, go to sleep."

"What about you? You need more sleep than I do," Feliciano came over to him and tentatively put a finger to the darkening bruise on Lovino's face. His hand was smacked away and the two brothers stared at each other before Lovino looked away.

"Let me keep watch," Feliciano persisted.

Lovino ignored him, keeping his face turned away the bruise in the shadows.

"Is something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

No kidding. Lovino thought. It's not his fault. He wouldn't even hurt a fly, but really? How stupid can he be?

Feliciano's stomach growled. Out of the corner of Lovino's eyes he saw his brother's face droop.

"I'm hungry. You know I can't go to bed on an empty stomach. Let me keep watch,"

Lovino turned his face and gave his brother a look.

"Are you hungry too?"

"..."

"Maybe this green stuff is edible." Feliciano started picking at the moss growing on the surrounding rocks. A pebble was disrupted from its spot and fell down the slope of rocks, clattering softly but distinctly.

"Oops..." Lovino rolled his eyes. Great, now everyone should know where we are now.

Feliciano picked up a tuft of the moss and inspected it, before popping it in his mouth.

"Hey, that's not bad." He began scooping up the moss earnestly.

"Go to sleep." Lovino finally said, pushing his brother's chest down. "I already told you, I'll keep the first watch."

Feliciano finished munching on the moss and turned over, closing his eyes. Lovino couldn't keep a small smirk off his face. His brother was always like this. Energetic until bedtime, when exhaustion finally hit him and he would sleep like a rock. Now that he was alone, Lovino gently touched the bruise, wincing.

The events of the day hit him. Beforehand, he and Feli had already discussed what they were going to do. More that he was going to head for cover, and Lovino was going to try and get something of worth.

The plan had worked perfectly until the guy with the long ponytail had appeared. Lovino had been trying to slip in the chaos unnoticed and grab a pouch of dried food when he saw feet in front of him.

Ponytail had a long, thin sword in his hand and he had stared sadly down at Lovino. He had screamed, and backed up several feet, trying his hardest to get away from Death itself. Ponytail's eyes had closed and then opened, a resonant look in them. Lovino's head turned, not because he didn't want to see the sword but because he needed to know where his brother was. The arena was thick with chaos, people running everywhere. Screams perforated the air and the sick sputtering of blood sprinkled the emerald grass. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he could see a curl. Feli was running far away, straight to the mountains. He opened his mouth to scream good-bye but instantly shut it again. If he alerted his brother, Feli would try and come and save him. At least his brother could stay alive.

Slam!

Lovino was pushed into the ground, and immediately his whole left side stung with the impact. He looked up and managed just to see the backs of someone's foot. Grateful that someone had managed to distract Ponytail, Lovino grabbed the same food pack that had got him in this trouble and ran.

The peaceful breathing of his brother reached him, and Lovino allowed himself to relax. His blinked his eyes, trying to keep his own exhaustion at bay. His hands moved and he found them clasped together. The look was so foreign but familiar it unsettled him. A word came to his head, he was praying. As his mind tried to grasp more onto the subject, the word disappeared into the abyss of Lovino's mind. The feel of his hands together soothed him and his lips formed nonsensical words as a hidden past played at the edges of his sanity.

Lovino's whole body jerked erratically when he felt a warm sweaty hand cover his mouth. He looked up, sleep still at the edges of his eyes to see his brother's eyes staring down at him. Feliciano had his head tilted and his eyes shut, a thoughtful expression on his face. Lovino let his heart calm down a bit before he removed his brother's hand, trying to hear whatever had scared him. It was not like Feliciano to wake up, though he had did have a knack for being able to sleep lightly when needed.

There was rustling somewhere beside the small cave they were in and Lovino's heart dropped down to his stomach and then back up into his throat. The two brothers shared a glance, fear and determination lit within their eyes. Lovino's hands were shaking and so were his brothers. This is it. This is the end. He said to himself and searched until his hand reached his brothers and grasped it tightly.

A hand poked through the brush and then an arm and then slowly a person was revealed. Standing before them was the angry blonde man that Feliciano had run into during training. He had several gashes across his stomach and arms and blood dripped down from some unseen cut on his forehead. His whole body was covered in dirt, like he had been wrestling in the mud. In his hand was a nasty looking knife. It was massive for a knife though, could be mistaken for a small, thick sword. It was startlingly clean compared to the rest of him. The man had a backpack strung against his shoulder and his eyes were tired and emotionless. They zeroed in on the scene in front of him though and he raised his knife again tiredly.

Lovino swore, words spilling out of his mouth that he didn't even understand, the language unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. It almost sounded nonsensical and he rose to his feet, pulling Feliciano with him. "You're not going to touch Feli bastardo. But do your worst with me." He tried to smile but it ended up turning into a grimace.

"No! Lovi, please- Mr. Ludwig sir, kill me instead! You don't want Lovino, he's not that good to eat and he's very intelligent perhaps you could- of course I'm also not very good to eat and I don't want to die!" Feliciano as usual had tears streaking down his face as he attempted to reason with the man. Ludwig (if that was his name) hardened his face and stepped even closer, his whole body tense and ready. Lovino knew that in his state, he would only be able to go after one, there was still a chance that Feliciano could escape and live. He detached his hand from his brother and thrust him to the left as he suicidal ran straight at the man. Having very little experience with fistfights and especially not one with knives, Lovino expected to be killed instantly. However when the knife slashed through the air at his own stomach, he found himself able to turn ever so slightly to the side and it ripped through fabric instead. Not wasting time to think on how his body knew what to do, he went for the hand that held the knife, trying to grip it. Unfortunately, the blood on the other's skin made it slippery and Lovino had to use both hands to grip, finding his throat suddenly constricted from the man's other hand. It was a test of strength, one that Lovino was losing as his muscles were no match for the bulging opponents. He could already feel his vision spotting as he tried to keep the knife from getting any closer to his throat.

He felt the man stumble, his grip slackening on his throat and Lovino tried to duck out of the hand. The man's eyes had gone up into his head and he was falling forward, the knife clattering to the ground. Lovino moved to get out of the way but his legs couldn't follow and he was trapped underneath the man's body. Any breath that was in him was immediately knocked out of him and he found his world spinning.

"Are you okay Lovi?!" His brother asked him hurriedly, his small frame tall against the cave entrance, a huge rock clasped between his petite hands. He was shaking badly, but other than that there was not a scratch on the boy. A strange glint of something appeared in his eyes before the tears appeared again. "I was so scared Lovino! You didn't think I was going to leave you alone, did you? I wouldn't do that to you. I didn't know what to do and I grabbed this rock and tried to hit him but now you're trapped!" His brother was on the edge of hysterics, a desperation entering his voice.

"Feli-" Lovino croaked, "grab the knife and then try and slide him off of him."

His brother complied, but he had some trouble moving the man. Lovino helped as much as he could but his arms felt like pudding and his body stung still from the impact. Eventually they had maneuvered him so he was out from under him. Feliciano grabbed him in a tight hug as soon as he was free and Lovino winced at the tender spots.

"There's no way I would ever abandon you, Lovino. Not now, not ever." Feliciano said, mouth close to his ear. "Fratello, mi conosci meglio." Feliciano removed his arms and stared down at the passed out man.

"We should kill him," Lovino said tiredly, "then we need to leave here. It looks to be nearing morning light and this was a dangerous spot for us to be in."

To his surprise, Feliciano didn't say a word at that and instead turned to Lovino and smiled. "A-alright, Lovino. I-I'll do it- if you really n-need me t-too."

Lovino blanched at the thought of his innocent brother staining his hands red. For some reason images of him with a gun in his hands flashed through his mind.

I'm doing what I can, fratello! Germany said I had to learn how to use this!

"No!" Lovino's voice was a tad bit too harsh, even for his liking as he chased away the strange thoughts. "Let me do it," He sat up and ignored the flares of pain as he crawled to reach the knife. Its handle was hard to grip, they would have to find a stream to clean it- they'd have to do a lot of things. Maybe it would have been easier to have died. He feared for what was to come- this was mere luck, the guy had been strong and big yes, but he had also looked like he had been up all night and had rather severe looking wounds. The rest of the tributes would not be so easy. With that in mind, he ordered his brother to leave the cave as he regretfully faced what he would have to do. It made him uneasy, killing a man in his sleep was not noble. He pushed the man so that he was laying on his back. In sleep, the features of his face were far less harsh. He fumbled with the knife, how was he supposed to kill a man? Uncertainly he looked at the prone figure and at the huge knife in his hands. This was something he had never learned.

"I'm sorry." Lovino said to the man and mumbled a prayer before tightening his grip on the knife.

Elizaveta hoisted the huge cast-iron pan that she had grabbed and put it behind her back. It wasn't a truly dangerous weapon but she found herself getting used to the thing. It had served her well so far.

"Hey! There's no need to hit one of your allies with that." Gilbert said from behind her, rubbing his head and laughing nervously.

"Well if someone had been smart enough to actually grab a weapon maybe I wouldn't be hitting them." Elizaveta replied, gritting her teeth and telling herself not to smack him again. She pushed through the brush, not even sure how they had managed to survive the night without getting killed. Gilbert had had surprising good survival instincts and had warned her whenever they were being followed. Between her pan and Gilbert's strength they had managed to ambush the first follower, a shy young man who had quickly run away when he had seen how large they were and climbed a tree. They had to hide whenever the Career pack passed by, Gilbert sticking a hand over Roderich's mouth and nodding to Elizaveta. Roderich had bickered with Gilbert for a while after that. He hadn't been able to grab anything but Gilbert didn't seem to mind the man as much as he pretended he did. Elizaveta also felt a strange affectionate feeling. If anything, he was very beautiful for a guy and would most likely get them many female or even male sponsors.

They were climbing up the side of the mountain as Gilbert insisted that they would be better higher up than on the ground. Elizaveta didn't want to say it but she suspected he was right. The maze didn't look promising and neither did the desert. She wondered if anyone at all had even headed for the desolate area. Maybe it had been an actual trap and that might have been the best place to go as no one would want to go there. It was too late to be thinking such things and she sighed.

An arrow whizzed past their face and Elizaveta stiffened and turned around, seeing Gilbert had once again pulled Roderich to the side. Whoever their pursuer was, he knew how to shoot. A thought flickered through her mind, was it perhaps that Katniss girl? No time to think about it, she had already started running. There were sparse trees and forests peppering the sides of the mountain which gave them cover but also made it easy for snipers. Constantly moving targets were much harder to catch than non-moving ones. Elizaveta kept moving, her lungs burning as more arrows whizzed past them. She heard a cry of pain behind her but she didn't stop to look to see who it was. She had to protect herself first.

Her heart beat erratically in her chest and she found that the sound of arrows actually propelled her further. They were familiar.

"Hey! I wasn't finished talking to you."

"Well, too bad, I'm not in the mood to listen." Elizaveta replied, her hands wrapped around a small bow as she shot at the target in front of her. Each arrow met its mark and when she had emptied her quiver she turned to find herself face to face with her albino friend. "Don't you have somewhere better to be than here?"

"Maybe, but it's more fun being better than you are." He replied and pointed to the target that he had begun shooting at while she had ignored him.

Elizaveta raised her eyebrows at that and stuck her tongue out at him. "We'll see about that." She threw her bow and quiver to the ground before jumping on the young boy and tackling him to the ground. In no time at all she was sitting on his chest.

"Ha!" She said smugly and got up off of him, laughing at how dramatically he got up. A little yellow bird came down to rest in his hair and chirped at her.

Nearly colliding into a tree, Elizaveta blinked and forced the memory from her mind, unsure as to why it had appeared in the first place. The arrows had stopped by now. Either the person had gotten out of range or they hadn't wanted to waste their precious protection. She continued to run a bit more just to make sure before she came to a stop and whirled around. A few seconds later, Gilbert arrived, his white hair sticking to his face and fear making his face vulnerable.

"Where's Roderich?" Elizaveta asked hurriedly, looking beyond Gilbert.

"He got shot and I didn't think to stop and save him." Gilbert gasped out and she was surprised to see guilt in his crimson eyes. Elizaveta opened her mouth to yell at him before remembering guiltily that she hadn't stopped either. It was the nature of the game, everyone wanted to protect themselves first than worry about their allies next. Grimacing she looked again at Gilbert, checking to see if he was alright. Other than covered in a few scratches they were both fine. Gilbert smiled sheepishly and began to speak before they both heard the sound of a pained voice.

"I don't actually need as much saving as you would think."

Elizaveta found that she had to restrain herself from hugging the very weary looking young man that had appeared in front of him. Gilbert looked relieved and clapped a hand around his back.

"Heh heh. Always knew you had it in you, I- Is that an arrow in your butt?"

Roderich had then pushed him off of him and looked at Elizaveta with a slight blush on his face.

"It seems I did actually get shot, but it's not that bad, is it?" She too found herself a little red as he turned around and she saw that the arrow was indeed stuck in his behind. Mustering all the courage she had, she grabbed it and pulled it out. Roderich hissed at that and sent her a reproachful look.

"Thanks for warning me."

"Sorry." Elizaveta said and broke the arrow in half so that the end with the arrowhead had a small end attached to it. She offered it to Roderich who made a strange noise and then Gilbert grabbed it.

"Right, you're going to need a bandage for that ass wound." Gilbert said, trying to keep a straight face and failing. Roderich turned even redder and then glared at him.

"It wasn't, um, really deeply embedded so he should be alright," Elizaveta said, trying not to be too suggestive in her words.

"Heh heh heh-"

"Shut your mouth." Roderich told him, his voice unusually short and surprisingly Gilbert did. The three continued onwards, Elizaveta with a newfound respect for Roderich. Occasionally she glance at Gilbert out of the corner of her eye, the strange flashback present in her mind. It couldn't be that she knew him? The oldest memory she had was waking up in a desert all alone. She had never remembered her childhood before. It seemed odd that he would be in such a memory too, considering she was much older than she looked. About sixty years older.

A/N: I'm sorry for the lack of content in this but decided to put what I had. The next chapters should be more packed, but I just wanted to tell people I'm somewhat back.